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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Time to earn my Blog Title.

It has been a while since I updated last, I apologize. I've been trying not to pull my hair out between school and the new codex. I know my past posts may have seemed a bit doom and gloom about the new book, but I've grown to like it a bit. Most of my opinions still stand, but what works, works really well. Though as many on the Tyranid Hive board can attest to, the rules seem very rushed and poorly phrased.
But moving on, the main problem is that everything has changed, not for the worse, but just different in almost every way. As someone wise on the forums said,
"This isn't a new codex, it's a new army, and you just happen to have the models for it." - MacabreDerek

Things have changed, and it is time for the players to adapt. Which brings me to my blog title. I'm not just blowing steam out my mouth with that title, we're going to look at predator-prey relationships. Please see the above graph, known now as fig 1.1

The basics behind the graph is simple, and it applies to warhammer, war, and life in general. As one group, called the prey, gains an advantage, their survivability goes up and there will be more of them. Shortly there after, the predators will find or develop a way to counter this advantage, and they will regain their foot hold. The predators' numbers will then increase and then the prey's numbers will go down shortly after. Until they gain another advantage. It is a back and forth cycle that can be seen in warfare, police/crime and in nature.

It is also evident in the phenomenon known as codex creep. The space marines came out in Fifth edition as the predators and knocked the prey back down. The Imperial guard as prey got their advantage as full/heavy mech options. The space wolves got powerful characters and hero options. 40K being a multifaceted wargame, gives each army a prey and predator response at the same time. So they also got increase mobility and fire power.

The new tyranid codex brings in even more to the osculating graph. The Heavy mech lists can now be threatened by close range S10 Ap1 lance shots, S8 indirect fire, and even faster moving Monstrous creatures. The horrible kill point missions that would eat away at our cannon fodder are not as threatening now that many units are now much more survivable with increased wounds and saves. The hard to hold objective missions are now more easily handled my cheaper and more numerous critters and larger beasts.

Codices can also be prey for themselves. The once legendary Nidzilla, or known as Carnifex spam lists were partly the undoing for themselves. With the new book, a single unit spam is not only near impossible, but strongly undesirable in its effects. A much more hybridized list requiring strong synergy (and synapse?) and a bit more finesse than before, is what will now arise as a strong army list.

With that I will let you think about the lists you make, and the future codices that will be revealed (blood angels being rumored I hear.) Think long and hard about how the dynamics of the games will effect the next race. If you can anticipate and predict the change and be ready for them, then just maybe the predator will be ahead of the prey for once.